In a Different World
by X559X
Summary: Watch a different Naruto rise. One that isn't in it for the peace of the world, but rather to find himself happiness. This is a different world from the one we all know and love. Naruto is Itachi's age. Kind of neglected naruto. No pairings as of yet. First story, advice would be welcomed.
1. And so we begin

Konohagakure no sato, the village hidden in the leaves, believed to be the strongest hidden village around. There are multiple reasons for this ranging from political power to military might. And yet, even though those reasons and everything in between are true, the villagers would say that it wasn't because of those things that they were on top. Rather, they would say it is because of the villages so called "Will of Fire". A way of living passed on from the first hokage that pulled the people of konoha together.

But this story isn't about konoha. It is about Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and his adventures through life, both good and bad.

It was a bright, sunny day in konoha with a couple of clouds lazily making their way across the sky. The children were playing and birds were singing. Civilians were patrolling the market buying and selling goods, and ninja were jumping from roof top to rooftop to get to either their next mission or the mission selection office. "What is so special about today?" one may wonder. Well, for that you'll have to read and find out.

Itachi sighed from on his perch in the tree. Why? Well, tomorrow was his graduation, and while to some people that would be great. To him his graduation meant more responsibility in the clan and pressure from his father, Fugaku Uchiha.

Itachi sighed again. How would his brother react to the sudden increase of attention Itachi got while his own lessened?

Then there was Naruto. Not really someone he would consider a friend, but he was the closest thing to it to Itachi. What would happen if he didn't pass the test just to get more attention from his parents? Or what if they don't have any opportunity to spar again like this because of how their lives pulled them apart?

He sighed a third time, a fact that did not go unnoticed by his companion who at first glance seemed to be sleeping.

"What now Itachi?" Naruto asked from his spot lower in the tree.

"Why do things change?" Itachi wondered.

"Huh?" Was Naruto's intelligent response. "Why does it matter?"

Itachi sighed again. His friend, while extremely talented, was certainly dense at times.

"Nothing Naruto. Just wondering about life."

Naruto looked ready to make some smart response to him at that point. Probably something about how philosophy was for people who cared. Honestly he didn't get his friend sometimes.

"Let's just go home. We have to get up tomorrow and graduate, or at least, I do." Itachi said jumping down from the tree, landing on the water below them.

'Water?' One may ask. Yes, water. The tree they are one isn't just some random tree in the many forests surrounding Konoha, but rather a special one. One that grew in the middle of one of the raging rivers just outside of Konoha's walls. It didn't have a name, most of these random rivers didn't, but it did hold significance to the two boys. It was here that they met for the first time, or at least made their first bond of friendship that may or may not be explained later.

But anyway, back to the boys. Both were 10 years old planning on graduating from the academy early by 2 years, the earliest allowed with the new laws the Yondaime put into place. At first glance the boys looked like complete opposites, but if one were to look 'underneath the underneath' as a certain ANBU would, they would see all the similarities. They were both from dysfunctional families, one because of having to much attention and the other not getting any. Both were prodigies in their own ways. Itachi was a prodigy of analytical shinobi who could not only change the flow of the fight within seconds, but was also a quick study who gained power actually quite easily. Naruto was a complete different kind of prodigy. He did not have Itachi's quick mind nor his talent for didn't even have access to nearly as much as Itachi. But what he did have he had in spades. He had determination. Determination enough that forced him to find and push himself passed his limits everyday. Determination that made him almost unstop able in battlefield thinking. It allowed for spontaneous plans and for Naruto to be able to match himself up against almost anyone in the whole village.

A reason the boys were thought different however was not just their talent in ninja skills, but also looks. Itachi stood at 5' 1" at an age of ten and had pure black hair tied in a ponytail that touched just beneath his shoulder blades. He had onyx black eyes that only seemed to change when he used his clans special bloodline, the sharingan, and two pronounced troughs on either side of his face. He wore simple clothes, a plain blue shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the back and black ANBU pants with a white stripe running down either side.

Naruto was much different. He stood at a simple 4'11" and had spiky crimson red hair that framed his head well and brought out his shockingly blue eyes. His eyes seemed just as dull as Itachi's however, if one looked they could find a well of emotions hidden behind them. His face had three whisker mark like birthmarks on each cheek. His outfit was significantly more complicated then Itachi's. Instead of just simple pants and a shirt, he wore a closed, sleek black vest (I'm just trying to say an unconstructed vest like the standard Konoha ones, except maybe a little slimmer) over simple short sleeved mesh armor. His hands up to the bottom of his elbows were wrapped around his forearms leaving only his fingers open. His pants were also black, but instead of a white stripe on either sided had orange ones.

The only similarity the two shared it seemed was their placement of their kunai/shuriken holders. Both had it taped up around their right thigh.

Both boys were walking home in relative silence before Naruto felt the need to speak.

"Should I pass?"

Itachi furrowed his brow, thoughts running through his mind. Thoughts that went like this: why is He wondering? Why wouldn't he? Is he doing this because of his family? Didn't they figure it out during their spar earlier? That they were both gonna pass, if only to get away from their families sooner.

While Itachi was processing the information and thinking about the why Naruto was wondering, the boy who posed the question kept talking.

"I know we talked it through earlier, but should we?"

Itachi gave a small smirk, "But should we really do anything?"

Naruto immediately grew a tick mark. He hated talking philosophy for some reason Itachi had learned. He was great at it and held very interesting and well thought out views, Itachi had learned the one time they did talk philosophy, but hated to argue, debate, or discuss philosophy. Because of this Itachi always tried to throw philosophy into most things just to annoy Naruto.

"Ah to hell with you, you bastard. I'll figure it out myself." Turning away, Naruto headed down the street back to his home.

"Naruto," Itachi said grabbing onto his arm, "I'm doing the same as you, so have an answer when we start tomorrow."

Naruto slowly nodded, realizing the weight of his words. It was the closest Itachi had ever come to calling him a friend and that He believed Naruto could make the right choice for both of them.

Itachi looked at Naruto a moment before smirking and letting go of his arm.

"See you tomorrow dobe." With that he walked away from view, disappearing down the street full of civilians almost immediately.

Naruto just stood there a minute, kind of shocked with how Itachi had immediately ruined the moment. Shrugging he began walking to his house.

As Naruto walked back he thought about the meaning behind Itachi's words. It was now his choice as to if either of them passed or failed. He couldn't help but feel nervous. He essentially held the choice to the rest of their lives in his hands. They could either graduate and become ninjas, or stay in the academy for another 2 useless years and still become ninja.

Looking up at the sky he sighed. Why couldn't it be as simple of a choice as it sounded? Become a ninja now of later. That was it essentially, but that also made all the difference for both him and Itachi. For him it actually didn't matter, he had pretty much given up on his family remembering him, but for Itachi there was everything that graduating and doing it early entailed. But goo he afford to not graduate early? His little brother Sasuke, even though a stuck up brat, was still his brother and did he deserve the harsh treatment Itachi got if he didn't succeeded more then everyone else.

He realized something, Itachi was nervous too. That's the only reason he would let Naruto choose. Because he was scared or making the wrong choice. Naruto sighed again, why did he always have to make all the decisions? Ever since they met, Naruto always made the choices that were life impacting for either of them.

He sighed again as he turned down the final road to his house. '_I'll just figure this out later. Yeah, later sounds good._'

Finishing his walk at the gate to his house, he stopped and looked. '_But it would be nice to be considered an adult..._' Shaking his head at the thought he walked onto the property.

The house was just a simple western style 3 story house. Not to big, but big enough considering his father's position.

He unlocked the door walked inside the house, noting its emptiness. "I'm home!" He called.

There was no response. Only the silenceof an uninhabited place. He walked around for a bit, seeing if they left or not. When he finally finished he walked up to the second story to his room.

'_They forgot me again. I wonder where they went this time? Ichiraku? Or maybe that sushi place Natsumi likes?'_ He sighed, only a little downtrodden at the fact he was left out again. It had been common occurrence enough for him to not even notice when they left him sometimes.

He walked over to his bed and laid down. Running his hands through his hair, he thought about the decision Itachi left him. It would be so perfect for him, and yet at the same time it could be terrible for Itachi. '_Well, really either decision is bad for him.' _ Naruto noted.

He stood up and looked around the room. Hopping for anything to take his mind off the decision, at least for the moment. His eyes took in everything from the bland white walls to the measly four pieces of furniture, including the bed. He looked first at his dresser, it had a random assortment of stuff on it, mostly clothes though so he skipped over it. He looked at his bookshelf next. It didn't have many books on it, but it did hold some of his favorite books like Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and The Merchant of Death by D.J. Machale, the first book in a great series (Seriously, I would recommend both books. Though the second one is more just because it is the first book in the series. Anyway, back to the story.). He looked at his desk last. It had mostly books on shinobi on it, but it also had ideas for his own book. He had found he enjoyed writing but couldn't think of anything to write about. He contemplated going over some of the practice seals but quickly dismissed the idea at the thought of more mental work. He finally looked at his bed and realized how sore he felt from his training.

'_Nap and then shower or shower and then nap?'_ He contemplated to himself. He sighed and smelt himself, recoiling away almost immediately. '_Shower it is'_ .

In the shower Naruto was back to contemplating what him and Itachi should do tomorrow. Going over the options in his head, he growled in frustration. '_Why can't this be simple?'_ He thought. '_Just choose one and get it over with. That's it. But it isn't that simple. If Itachi fails, his father could very week put that pressure on Sasuke. But if he passes, then he gets even more pressure and responsibility from his father.' _ He hit his head on the wall, wondering why it still couldn't be easy. '_Whatever!' _ Naruto shouted to himself in his thoughts, '_I'll just choose one tomorrow right before. I hope it proves to be right, no matter what I choose for us though.'_ Satisfied with his "answer" he finished up his shower and left the bathroom. On his way to his room Naruto idly noticed that his family had returned from their dinner while he was in the shower. He also figured out where they went. '_So, sushi. I wonder how that place is. I'll have to try it sometime.'_

When he was back in his room he decided he would just turn in for the night considering that he had to get up an hour earlier for the tests to get out by lunch. After he changed into his clothes he grabbed a ration bar and water bottle from his pack. He laughed dryly to himself when he realized what he was eating. '_And to think my family was just at a 4 star restaurant and I'm here eating ration bars and drinking water.' _He took a swig of the water right then. '_Bad water at that'_.

Sighing for, hopefully, the last time that day he brushed himself off, set his alarm, and got under the covers.

It wasn't long until the fireworksstarted. It was the day the Kyuubi was defeated by the beloved Yondaime. He turned away from his window, hoping to stop their lights from disturbing him. He finally drifted off to sleep with one last thought.

_'Happy birthday to me'_


	2. Is there even a plot?

**A/N: Hey guys! So I kinda-sorta didn't really know how things worked last time, so I didn't have an Author's note. But this time I do so it's all good. Anyway, I just have a couple of things to say. A) I'm completely making this up as I go with only a plot good enough to make a story, so you know as much about what will happen as I do. B) this is my first story or really writing anything outside of school papers which I do not do the best on. C) the only thing I can guarantee for an update schedule is once a month at least. Maybe more. And finally D) I wanna here what you guys can think up of for a plot so that maybe I can get ideas. Everything helps! But try to stay away from stuff that happens a lot in fan fictions.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading!**

**Also, as some people may have noticed, i have updated like 4 times since i posted this the first time. I have only one real reason for this. I put the chapter up as soon as I finish it without bothering to reread it or profread it. so sorry about that**

**Disclaimer: I, thankfully for all of you, do not own Naruto**

He really didn't want to go along with the idea. It sounded kind of stupid to be honest. Why would they take another test for no reason other then to take it?

"Why?" Naruto asked him, "Why should we take an extra test?"

Mizuki gave a friendly smile. "Well I assumed that you three would appreciate being on the same team

Naruto's line of thinking faltered at that and he glanced to his two companions. The one on his right was Itachi with his usual stoic mask on, but if one knew him well enough, they could see the curiosity in his eyes. On his left was possibly his and Itachi's only other friend. Akira, an orphan who ended up choosing the ninja life because of lack of options in jobs.

Akira, unlike Naruto and Itachi, did not have family problems. This could be for a variety of reasons, but the main reason why is because she is an orphan from the Kyuubi attack 10 years prior that killed her parents. She is even shorter then Naruto or Itachi, standing at 4'9". She has flat white hair that reached to just below her shoulder blades, so about even with Itachi's ponytail. Her face, unlike her friends, did not have any marking or special characteristic except for its lean look. Her eyes, a striking emerald green, could pick up even the slightest muscle movement do to hours of training. She wore a simple almost skin tight short sleeve black shirt that showed off her budding breasts over a long sleeve mesh armor top and a simple dark blue skirt. Her outfit was completed with the orange and black shin guards she wore.

Akira wasn't sure what to make of the whole situation, but hearing that they could be on the same team with just one measly test she found herself quickly on board with the idea.

"Come on Naruto. Let's do the test. Wouldn't it be great to be on the same team?"

Mizuki smiled while Naruto wavered in his decision. _'But should we trust Mizuki? Why is he only asking us? What's in it for him?'_

"But why are only-" Naruto started only to get cut off by Itachi giving his decision.

"We should do it Naruto. It may prove good for us."

Naruto looked at his friend, shocked for a moment, before understanding came to him.

'_So he doesn't trust Mizuki either. But what about Akira, does she?'_ A quick glance at her and he could at least see the slight mistrust in her eyes. _'Does she know, or does she just not believe it's possible?' _Sighing, he turned to Mizuki and gave him a strained smile?

"Well seeing as I'm outnumbered, I guess we will take your test."

Mizuki smiled back, seemingly not noticing the fake smile. "Excellent! Now, about the test...

Having gotten all the details on the "test" from Mizuki, Naruto sighed.

"Does he really find us that desperate and stupid, or did we just miss something really important?" Akira asked as she climbed up the tree after the two boys.

"That's what I'm wondering." Naruto responded. '_I mean, he can't really expect the rookie of the year and the human lie detector to not notice something. Can he?'_

"Not likely." Itachi chimed in stoically.

"Yeah well whatever. I say that the bastard will get get what's coming to him sooner or later." Akira said while jumping up the last few branches of the tree to her traditional spot. Naruto and Itachi were right above/next to her because of how the branches on the tree were. Naruto was to her right and Itachi on her right.

"Gah. I just wanna forget about the jackass." Naruto complained rolling over his branch so he was hanging on by only his legs.

Itachi chuckled and Akira giggled at their friend's antics.

"So why did you guys wanna come here?"

The sudden question seemed to put an immediate damper on the mood. Akira turned her head away nervously. "W-well we thought t-that it would be...umm.."

Itachi sighed at her embarrassment. "She is trying to say we wanted to celebrate your birthday today, especially considering we graduated."

Now Naruto found it his turn to look embarrassed, face turning red quickly under the thought of them remembering _'Unlike a certain group of people.' _Naruto gritted his teeth for a second at that, but soon was back to looking away in embarrassment. Yet, no matter how fast it came and went, both Itachi and Akira noticed the shift in demeanor for that second. Itachi just sighed and Akira bit her bottom lip a little nervously.

"You guys don't have to do that," Naruto started, completely ignoring the looks he had just gotten from his friends. "I mean, you don't have to go out of your way for me."

Itachi just shook his head as Akira bopped the red haired child on the head for that comment.

"Idiot! We want to. Did you ever think of that?" She asked her eyes showing righteous fury.

"Yeah, but I mean come on. You guys don't have to worry about me. I'm fine without a birthday. I don't really want anything" Naruto said. '_Except for maybe my family's notice'_.

Itachi just sighed, "Well you're right in that we can't stay long. At least I can't. So here is your present." Itachi said, tossing him a small box wrapped in blue paper. Naruto started shaking it, trying to figure out what it was. "Just open it Naruto." Said person just laughed and scratched his head sheepishly.

He carefully undid the paper, being careful not to rip it. When he finally got all the paper off and had opened the box he pulled out a scroll. Curious, he unrolled it only to. Gasp in shock.

"Y-you didn't have to Itachi."

Itachi kept his face stoic, but one could see the mirth in his eyes. "Well you had wanted one for a while."

Naruto gave small, genuine smile. "Thank you Itachi." The boy just nodded in response.

"Hey, hey, hey! What is it?" Akira busted in on the moment, not able to contain her curiosity any longer.

Naruto just shook his head. "You'll find out later Akira. Don't worry."

"Well why not now? Is it really gonna make a difference?"

Naruto took a moment to seemingly think about this.

"Alright," he said and Akira lit up in excitement, "it is..."

She leaned forward, not able to completely cover her excitement.

"A secret." Was his anti-climatic response. She faltered at that, then huffed.

"Fine. Don't tell me. I don't wanna know anyway." She said as she looked away.

"Aww, don't be that way Akira-chan. At least give me my present." Naruto said, knowing she doesn't like the chan ending.

She huffed again. "Fine. But only if Itachi leaves."

Now it was Naruto's turn to falter. "What? But w-?"

"That's fine. I actually had to get going anyway." Itachi interrupted as he stood up. "I'll see you two tomorrow at our normal training grounds, yes?"

The two just nodded before he jumped off the tree.

"See ya later Itachi!" Naruto shouted down. Itachi just waved lazily over his shoulder before dashing away in a burst of speed.

Naruto immediately turned back to Akira. "So, what did you get me?" He asked, trying to not appear to curious but, of course, failing miserably.

She stifled giggle at her friend's mature and cool act. While around strangers and people he doesn't like he may be good at appearing calm, cool, and collected, but with friends he could never hide even his simplest thoughts. He was just to much of an open book to those he trusted.

Instead she pulled out a scroll. "Huh? You got me a sealing scroll? Thanks, but you know I can make tons of these right?"

She resisted the sudden urge to face palm. The red haired child in front of her sure was dense at times.

"No. It's not 'just' a sealing scroll you idiot." She said before giving it to him. "I just found it easier to carry what I got you in there rather then by hand."

Naruto's mouthed an 'oh' in understanding before unraveling the scroll and channeling chakra into the seal.

A puff of smoke later and Naruto was in shock. There, in his arms, was something he didn't think anyone knew he liked. The object that popped out of the scroll wasn't all that impressive actually, but to him it was the very idea that that she knew that shocked him. She had gotten him a flute. A simple flute yes, but a good flute none the less. It was a metal flute that was colored a dark grey, a stark difference from the peerless white pieces that lined it. He just stared at the piece in his arms in shock for a minute before turning to the person who got it.

"But how'd you know?" Was all he could get out.

Akira just gave him a small smile. "Anyone who knows you knows what you like, and between a violin and flute I figured a flute would work better into a ninja life. I don't know how good you are with them, but it's as good a time as any to learn."

He smiled at her. "Yeah, I'm not that good. I've never had a chance to really play before, only listen to other people."

"Yeah. Well, I gotta get going to. Don't forget to practice. I'm gonna want to hear you play it soon."

He gave a giant smile at that. "You just wait. I'm gonna become so good that you beg me to play."

She grinned up at him from the top of the water. "Well then Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, I can't wait till then." She shouted up before she started running to shore.

"Yeah! You'll see! I'll do it!" He shouted after her, a smile on his face.

After she disappeared from view into trees, he let his smile drop. '_I wonder if they even know I'm not at home? Or maybe that it wasn't just Natsumi's and Ayako's birthday yesterday?'_ He leaned back, contemplating his family and his relationship with them. '_Not like either of us have really reached out to each other. After the twins were born I thought it would be best to stay out of the way. So I guess it is partly my fault. But later on, why couldn't they accept my advances to reconnect. Saying things along the lines of "_I'm busy_" only make sense for so long. I wish...I wish they didn't completely lock me out the family like they did. But then there is also..._

Naruto stayed there just contemplating his non-existent relationship with his family until long after the sun had set and the moon had come up. Finally focusing his eyes however, he noticed the stars in the sky. _'Shit.'_ He thought, _'I have to get up early tomorrow too'_. Getting up he quickly raced throughout the empty streets back to his house.

Finally getting home, he opened the door. "I'm home." He said a little louder then his normal voice volume, but he dared not yell and wake up whoever was asleep.

Minato's head poked around the wall of the kitchen at that. "Oh," he said not even trying to hide the surprise in his voice, "We thought you were sleeping already."

Naruto gritted his teeth. '_Really? And you couldn't even check?_'. But instead of yelling at Minato about his incompetence as a father, he just forced a smile. "Nope. I was just out and lost track of the time. I'm actually going to bed right now."

"Alright. See you tomorrow then." Minato responded, quickly disappearing back into the kitchen.

Naruto just sighed and shook his head at the blatant not caring by his father before heading up to his bedroom.

_Meanwhile, in the kitchen (btw, I'm not gonna give a description of Kushina and Minato. Mostly because I suck at describing and because I can't find a good way to put it in)_

"Who was that?" Kushina asked as her husband walked back into the kitchen.

Minato sighed before taking a sip from his cup of sake. "It was Naruto. Apparently he was still out."

Kushina gasped at that. "But what about telling us he was going out?"

Minato shook his head and sighed again. "He didn't tell me anything. What about you?" Kushina's response was a simple shake of the head.

They stood there for a minute after that revelation, each nursing their drinks. Kushina a glass of wine and Minato a cup of sake.

Minato spoke up after a minute. "I'm concerned about his attitude, Kushina. I think we spoil him to much."

Kushina looked at him for a minute before asking, "How so?"

"Well, think about it. We let him have to much freedom at being so young."

She nodded at that, he always did seem to come and go whenever.

"Then," he continued, "there is missing all of the family outings together. Like yesterday when we went to the sushi place (not giving it a name)."

Again, Kushina nodded at seeing how he was right.

"And he has everything he could possibly want. Everything must've gone to his head. I mean, can you think of some other reason why he acts like he does, like he doesn't have responsibilities?"

Kushina thought about it for a minute before slowly shaking her head in the negative. "You're right." She started, "We should stop this before it becomes too much of a problem. I think we should start with taking away his freedom to come and go as he pleases without telling us."

Minato gulped down the rest of his sake after her idea. "I agree. But let's bring it up tomorrow. I don't think it would be productive to go and tell him now."

She nodded in agreement and sauntered over to him, swaying her hips sensually. "Well since all the serious business is over," she leaned in, her breath smelling of the wine she drunk and breathed against his ear, "Why don't we get to the serious business."

She giggled at Minato's baffled look before dragging him out of the kitchen, leaving the empty glasses and bottles where they were.

After they left, a figure stepped out of the shadows behind the kitchen wall, his bright blue eyes alight with righteous fury. _'What did they say I am?' _Naruto thought. '_They said I was fucking spoiled?! Well screw them too! They can't just come up with some idea like this and punish me with no evidence!' _Naruto was glad he went back down to say goodnight to them, without his trying to be nice he would've been screwed over in the morning when his parents jumped him about his 'problem'. No. Naruto wasn't going to stay around for that. He wasn't gonna be there to be told they were taking the one thing they gave to him. His freedom.

He was leaving for the night. He would show up after he explained his new situation to his friends. _'Fucking idiots. Punishing me for nothing.'_

With that final thought, he grabbed his bag, opened the door, and walked out. When he got to the gate he left without even turning back, not realizing that would be one of the last times he would get to see his home.

**More A/N!**

**Alright, quick update I know. But I'm just so excited about people liking something I made. So I just have one request really, tell me what you thought of this chapter compared to the last one. Was it as well written or worse is my only real curiosity. That's what I'm afraid of, having my writing drop in quality. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks to everyone who followed or favorited this! **


	3. Filler, Yay!

**A/N: Yeah, I'm updating pretty fast right now. I don't really know why other than the fact that I've been kind bored of reading fan fiction myself and am finding myself really enjoying making a story and having other people enjoy it. But whatever, as long as everyone else is happy, so am I. And thanks for reviewing guys. I appreciate it. **

**Disclaimer: Naruto is being kept out of my possession for the benefit of the series, so I don't actually own any of this stuff.**

Naruto sighed as he rested in the tree. It really hadn't been all that great of a day. Sure he graduated, and sure his friends celebrated his birthday, but nothing else seemed to go well. Especially his parents who apparently thought he was a spoiled brat.

_'They didn't even say anything about me passing'_ he thought angrily as he looked down at the headband in his hands. It had the standard metal plate with the Konoha symbol carved into it. The only difference between it and the ones most others had was that he had switched the blue fabric attached to the plate out immediately for a dark orange one. The only thing left now was where to put it.

The red head shrugged and put it back in his bag. _'I can always do it later_.' He thought and leaned back into the tree before truly looking at the situation with his parents.

_'I can't really believe they know so little about me.'_ He thought angrily. _'I mean, I should've known, but still! They are my parents! I can understand the not noticing me as much after they finished training me as much as was possible in controlling the Kyuubi's chakra, I didn't make much of an effort to reconnect with them after that hellish training.'_

At the last thought he frowned. The training he had gone through really hadn't been fun for him. And to top it off, they didn't even train him in any ninja techniques! No, they just taught him how to punch and dodge.

At this point Naruto couldn't help put hate his parents. '_What right do they have to this to me?! Me! After everything they've done to me! They have none! They don't even deserve to call me their son!'_ Naruto shouted in his mind before taking several deep breaths to calm himself.

'_Just calm down.'_ He told himself. '_They can't do anything if you don't show back up, right? Yeah. They can't. So I'll just stay away from home for the rest of the week. Let myself calm down and sort things out.'_ He nodded to himself at that. _'Yeah, I'll come back after the test."_

He looked up at the sky and noticed how high the moon was up in the sky. '_Shit. It's got to be like midnight right about now. I have to wake up early tomorrow!'_

With that last thought Naruto leaned even farther back into the tree and went to sleep.

The next day Naruto woke up with the sun shining right onto his face. Grumbling, Naruto tried to roll away from the sun only to fall off his branch. He screamed as he fell down into the water far below.

For a second, he felt relief at his fall being stopped. That relief quickly went away as he realized the water was more like ice. Screaming again, he jumped out of the water trying to get to shore as fast as he could.

Dripping wet, he looked back to the tree. "Stupid fucking tree." He mumbled to himself, "Couldn't be in a normal fucking spot for trees like, oh I don't know, maybe a freaking forest."

Finishing his rant, he looked up at the sky only to recoil in shock. He was late.

He was _never_ late.

He sighed. This was not turning out to be a good day. He could only hope it would get better. Hurrying off, he arrived at the training ground he and his friends' had agreed to meet at.

Itachi was the first to notice him walk out of the trees. "A little late are we Naruto?" He asked in his monotone voice. Naruto gritted his teeth. He didn't mean to be late.

"Yeah Naruto," Akira chimed in,"I thought you hated to be late. Yet here you are. Two whole hours late! We had to start training without you."

Naruto teeth were grinding at this point. He wanted to shout at them that this hadn't been his most ideal morning, but he held back. Instead he took several deep breathes before smiling at the two.

"Oh well. What are you going to do? Sometimes you just get lost on the road of life."

Everything seemed to stop. The birds stopped chirping, the animals moving. Heck, even the wind stopped! Naruto was given incredulous looks by his friends.

He sighed. _'It wasn't that bad, was it?'_ He thought to himself.

Itachi seemed to recover faster from that shock to the system then Akira and tried to move on like it never happened. "So what's the real reason you're late?"

Naruto sighed. Leave to Itachi to know it wasn't that simple.

"I spent the night in the tree. Apparently my parents think I'm spoiled and were going to tell me this morning that I can't just do whatever anymore. I'd have to tell them everything."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Akira asked, seeming to have finally recovered from Naruto's statement.

"It wouldn't be if they actually cared and weren't just doing it out of the obligation to being parents."

Akira mouthed an oh. Silence fell over the three of them. Not an awkward one mind you, but a peaceful silence. Surprisingly, it was Itachi that broke it first.

"Want to spar today?" He questioned Naruto.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I actually planned to work with your gift today."

Itachi raised his eyebrow a little at that. "You already have something to practice with it?"

Naruto just smiled and shook his head again. Itachi sighed. Leave it to his friend to go into something with no knowledge of how to do it.

"What did you get him anyway?" Akira asked.

Naruto didn't even bother to answer before turning away. "I'm going to a different clearing to train with it. I'll see you guys at Ichiraku at lunch to start figuring out how to pass Mizuki's test, alright?"

Itachi gave a curt nod while Akira glared at him. Apparently she was pissed at him for not even dignifying her question with a response.

"Hey! Where do you get off think-" she was cut off from her lecture by a gust of wind and the disappearance of the recipient of said lecture. She stood, shocked for a minute before she decided to get back at him at lunch. Nodding to herself, she stalked off for her own training.

Itachi sighed to himself again, something he realized he had been doing a lot lately, and shook his head at how his friends acted. They were too childish for him, really. But thinking on it, he couldn't help but smile at the sense of normalcy they seemed to bring him.

Naruto felt sore. It truly had been a long day. His rude awakening that morning did not help either. After their morning practice, the three of them had gone and talked over Mizuki's test. They decided they would rather get it done earlier rather than later and so planned to so it the next night. Afterwards everyone went their separate ways. Itachi's father had wanted him for something, Akira went to work at one of the many ninja stores in Konoha, and Naruto ended up sneaking back home in the hope of not seeing his parents but still getting his notes from his room.

He had almost done it too. He was literally just closing the gate to the property when his mother noticed him as she came home from shopping. As soon as she called for him he ran, not bothering to see if she was following him. He just didn't want to deal with her and his father right now. He was still pissed at them.

Naruto slid down the trunk of the tree to his normal perch and sighed. _'No way she followed me here...right?'_

_Earlier at the house_

Kushina sighed as she watched Naruto run away. She had been surprised that morning when she hadn't seen him. She thought he would be there seeing how late he got to the house, but alas, she was wrong. She just couldn't understand him, especially lately. He had always separated himself from the family, but the past year or so it had only gotten worse. She couldn't really understand it and hoped it was just a phase.

Once she walked in the house however she forgot the whole line of thought at seeing Natsumi working on her sealing.

She smiled. She just couldn't help it around the twins. They had this aura around them that drew you to them. As she passed Natsumi to put the groceries away, she couldn't help wonder what could have possibly made her sad earlier.

**Yeah, shorter chapter, but whatever. And to those of you who mentioned about the plot because, I'm assuming, of the chapter title. That title was just kind ironic because there doesn't seem to be a plot really. And from my author note, I meant to say interactions. I have a plot and certain things I'd like to do, but I always welcome ideas as for something to do.**


	4. Some plot development!

**A/N: Hey, a little while since I last posted. But anway, school has started again so I should be able to write more (Cause what else am I gonna do during classes?).and I don't really have anything to say except for check out EvilCuttlefish's story and Darkbeast42's stories. I recommend them all. Anyway, remember to review on how you think the story is and enjoy!**

The ANBU patrols were getting very annoying to avoid. Who knew leaving the village would be so much of a hassle?

Naruto let out the breath he had been holding as yet another patrol passed him, the third one in the last 30 minutes. At the rate they were coming he wouldn't be able to get out of fire country for another week or so. It had already been 3 days since he left. Couldn't they just leave him alone?

He looked up at the sky and saw the moon. That shocked him. He hadn't even noticed the day had turned into night.

_'Should I sleep or continue on?'_ Naruto contemplated. On one hand, it had been 2 days since he got any rest. On the other, he didn't want to get caught by the patrols still coming.

He made up his mind. He was going to continue going. It was the only way to ensure that he didn't get captured. Nodding to himself, Naruto got up only to fall right back down. He chuckled to himself. _'I guess I'm more tired then I thought.'_ He looked around once, making sure there were no ANBU nearby. _'I guess taking a rest wouldn't be too bad.'_

He ran up the tree he was just a moment ago taking shelter behind and found a suitably branch to sleep in. It was comfortable and out of sight if anyone that was passing by looked at the tree. He sat down and immediately tied some ninja wire around himself and the branch. He learned about sleeping in trees from his last experience and falling into the water. _'Who would've thought that I'd think of this because of one bad experience while sleeping in trees?'_ He thought in mild amusement. He settled down after that and pulled out two kunai. One for each hand. He only had one last thought before he fell asleep.

_'I wonder how Itachi and Akira are doing?' _

**Earlier that week**

Naruto was humming as he made his way out of the Hokage tower, a place he had not been to in a little over two years. _'So we steal the scroll, get Mizuki caught, make off with a few of the techniques, and still hopefully get put on the same team for our teamwork.' _Naruto thought before he grinned wickedly, a thing that looked slightly demonic on his visage. People moved out of his way when they saw him. That didn't stop him from grinning though._'No way this can go wrong'_

Why was Naruto walking out of the tower? Well, today was the day that they decided to scout it out. That way when they raided it the next day they would be able to do things quickly and efficiently. The only thing they actually had to look for when they were scouting was the extra documents Mizuki wanted. The Forbidden scroll was rather easy to find. It was in a safe secured by seals in the Hokage's office. They had no idea why he wanted documents from the Kyuubi attack, but they also didn't really care.

He had to withhold a laugh at the thought of Mizuki. He couldn't believe that Mizuki thought that he was pulling one over on the three of them. He couldn't wait to see the look on Mizuki's face as they turned the tables on him.

He couldn't wait to tell his friends what he found out from the tower. That the security was ridiculously pathetic. So much so that he believed they could probably just stroll in, take what they needed, and leave.

He kept smiling as he made his way to their designated meeting spot, training ground 53. They chose the place because it was one of the few that genin could work at without jounin instructors. It was also chosen because of the convenience that they wouldn't have to stop training to talk with the person whose turn it was to scout out the tower.

Naruto's smile didn't break until he reached the training ground where he saw something that shocked him. Itachi and Akira were kissing, something he found weird for two reasons. 1) they were only 10 years old and because 2) Itachi and Akira? Really?

As Naruto's young mind processed this new information he could only come up with one conclusion. He was the third wheel in their friendship. _'I'm being left out again.'_ He thought with a sigh. _'It's going to be like with _them _except far more painful. And when it's all said and done I'm going to have nothing again.' _He slumped down on the branch he was on. It was a lot to take in. His friends were together, and the only thing he got out of that was that they wouldn't need him anymore.

_'No' _he thought. _'I refuse to be the third wheel. I'll show them that I matter. But how ca-'_

"Did you find out what we need to know?" Itachi interrupted Naruto's chain of thought, almost making him jump.

"Yeah, and I must say. The security, if you can even call it that, is arrogant enough to believe no one would attack the tower that hey don't even pay attention to what's going on in it." Naruto said calmly while trying to slow his racing heart. _'Kami, how'd he get up here that fast? When did he get up here?' _He thought.

"Oh? Really?" Itachi said in his monotone voice, though if one knew him well enough they would have heard the mirth behind those words.

Naruto just nodded and jumped down. "So where's Akira?" He asked after Itachi followed him.

"Around here training somewhere, why?"

"Oh no real reason," Naruto replied, waving off the curiosity he got from Itachi. "I just wanted to let her know too so I thought 'why not right now?'."

Itachi merely nodded before turning away. "I can go find her and tell her about the terrible security. We can go over it in more detail tomorrow at noon back here."

Naruto lazily waved to Itachi that that worked before he jumped off to find someplace to think.

_'What's his rush?' _Itachi thought while narrowing his eyes in the direction his friend left. He stared for a second before shaking his head. _'Probably just problems with his family again.'_

_With Naruto_

Itachi was right when he thought Naruto was having problems with his family. He just had the wrong family in mind. It wasn't his biological family that he was having problems with, it was his true family, Itachi and Akira, that he was. He just couldn't get the image of those two kissing and the repercussions that left him.

He had been turned into a third wheel, at least to best of Naruto's limited dating knowledge he was. It was also because of this little knowledge that he was left with the image that he would be unwanted and unneeded by them anymore.

Simply said, he was sad. Sad and angry and scared and a multitude of other emotions. None of them out shining another, all of them wreaking havoc in his mind.

To try and ease himself of the emotions, he decided he would practice with the flute he was gifted. Earlier he had gone and gotten books on how to play that included a couple of songs in them. He decided to forsake the songs that they had given him and just play.

It had not been the best idea on his part. Yes, at times the sounds he produced from the flute were beautiful, but for the most part it sounded almost like someone was scratching a chalkboard. He didn't regret his decision though. It cleared his mind and let him know how not to play a flute.

Breathless, bored, and now clearheaded, Naruto looked up at the sky just to see the sky changing colors as night came. _'How come this is always happening lately?'_ He thought before shrugging it off. _'Meh, whatever'._

He then looked around the clearing in whatever random training ground he ended up in. There wasn't anything there. It was so normal he almost felt disgusted that he ended up in it. Naruto quickly shrugged off the thoughts off the clearing, they weren't going to help him decide what to do in his supposed situation.

He laid down deciding the answer would come to him while watching what he could of the sky as the day turned into night. After a couple of minutes of calmly watching his eye lids began to droop before he finally gave in and let sleep overtake him.

_Naruto's Dream_

It was was his first observation upon opening his eyes. The next was that it felt like he laying down in water. He took a moment to look around and realized it wasn't dark and that he was just looking up at the seemingly never ending ceiling. He was actually in some type of sewer that had weird pipes running along the sides. There were big and small ones, red and blue respectively. He frowned, the place felt vaguely familiar but he just couldn't place it. He kept frowning as he got up and looked around with a more analytical eye. The place didn't actually have any lights, it just was light.

_'What is the place and why does it feel familiar?'_ Naruto thought before shouting out to see if anyone was there. His voice echoed for a little before he received an echo of a growl from behind him. His frowned deepened when he heard it. It felt so familiar and yet he couldn't place it.

He debated for a moment whether he should find where the growl came from for a moment before the choice was taken from him. Without any warning Naruto was pulled to where he heard the sound come from. It wasn't a pleasant experience for the redhead. It had felt like a roller coaster ride, if that ride didn't care for your safety by hitting every corner available to it and going far beyond a safe speed.

When the pull stopped Naruto splashed head first into the water on the floor and groaned. Why did weird things always happen to him? He groaned and got up, being flung into walls hurt apparently. After he was back on his feet, he decided to take a look around at the place he had been deposited. It only took him a couple of seconds to figure out why he was brought there and why it seemed familiar. He was standing in front of what looks like a jail cell that had the mysterious red pipes from earlier entering it. He thought nothing of the pipes though and focused on the giant golden bars that seemed to stretch forever into the black abyss known as the ceiling. The only thing that seemed to hold the two halves of the bars together was a simple piece of paper that said seal on it.

He was in front of the Kyuubi's cage. He had been there before, but not for a long time and because of that he couldn't help but wonder what brought him there and why the cage looked empty. There were no giant, red eyes nor was there the normal background noise of the Kyuubi's slow, steady breathes. No, there was nothing except for black, much like the ceiling.

He moved toward the cage and peered inside. The light only went in about 3 feet before it just stopped, something that made no sense really. There really wasn't much to look at outside of the black, how did the Kyuubi do it all the time? _'Maybe the dark is more of a curtain_.' He thought, '_and there is more behind it!'_ He quickly got excited as his imagination ran wild with all the things that could be behind there that could keep the giant demon fox entertained. Giving the. Age another quick look to make sure the Kyuubi wasn't, he darted in.

As he past the bars and entered the darkness he missed the red eyes that opened on the far side of the cage. _'So my warden has finally come back,' _the chakra construct thought before it's gave a malicious smirk, _'and he walked into my domain.'_

Naruto was stumbling around in the black as he was slowly realizing that all the beast did was sleep all day. _'Motherfucker,' _he thought,_'now I have to find my way out of this abyss.'_

As he started to retrace his steps to the best of his ability in the dark place, he immediately ran into something soft and fuzzy.

Wait, what in a cage of a giant demon fox could have something this soft and fuzzy?

Naruto froze. That would mean that the Kyuubi was in front of him. That this probably isn't a dream. That he let his logic fail him at the worst possible time. He summed it all up in one word.

"Fuck"

He jumped back only to find himself in a small circle of light. He looked around frantically while moving towards the center of the circle. His heart was beating a million miles a minute. He couldn't believe the situation he had gotten himself into. _'I had fallen asleep, how'd I get into my mindscape?!'_

_'There.'_ He thought turning around just to see something slink back into the darkness. He backed up a little more and ended up going past the center of the circle before his back hit something soft and a warm breeze started hitting him, almost like it was breathing. He gulped and turned around just to see the Kyuubi's malicious grin and glowing red eyes.

"So the warden has come to see his prisoner for once." The Kyuubi spoke before his smile seemed to become even more malicious. "How thoughtful."

Naruto did the only thing any sane human would have done after seeing the sight of such a smile on the great beast.

He fainted.


	5. Strange Fox

**A/N: Ugh. you people kill me. Only two reviews last chapter? that hurts, it truly does.**

**Well, not actually all that much, but I'm a being who craves that recognition.**

**Anyway, new chapter and stuff. had some stuff I was gonna say earlier in here, but now I've forgotten. Meh, whatever. I'll tell you guys if I remember. **

**Now on with the story!**

Itachi groaned as he came to, his head was throbbing like there was no tomorrow.

_'What happened?'_ Itachi questioned himself. The last thing he remembered was waking up in the middle of the night to the sounds of sirens. When Itachi ran to his window he had been greeted with Naruto jumping in through it with a backpack on him. The next thing he remembered was black. _'But why?' _Itachi thought as he slowly picked himself up from his floor.

He couldn't help but think he was missing something though. His friend never did anything without a reason, but why knock him out? It didn't make sense unless Naruto thought he would get in the way. But then get in the way of what?

As questions and reasons raced through Itachi's brain he got up and began his morning ritual. _'Meh, I'll find him later and ask him. Not much I can do right now.'_ He thought as he finished getting ready and walked out of his room to get breakfast.

Walking out of the door he noticed something odd. There was a piece of paper on the side facing into his room. At first he was disturbed because it took him so long to notice, but he summed it up to his distracted mind. He quickly ripped it off however and gasped almost as soon as he started to read it.

_'I have to tell Akira.'_ Was Itachi's only thought before he took off, forgetting about breakfast completely. As he rushed out he ended up leaving the note on the floor inside his room, forgotten.

**Earlier with Naruto back in his mindscape**

He groaned as he came to. How'd he hurt his head? Oh yeah, he fainted. He frowned. How does one faint in their mind? Naruto shrugged. Did it really matter?

Something else came to the forefront of his mind though, why was he still alive? Or maybe this wasn't his mindscape at all and was really just the pit of the fox's stomach. He chuckled a little at that. The irony of it just seemed so strangely funny to him. Him, the jailer, let the prisoner get control of the prison.

Naruto opened his eyes and gave a quick look over and then felt slight disappointment. He was, he guessed, in the demon's stomach. The disappointment came from the fact that is was just as pitch black as it was outside of the Kyuubi. The ground he was on also felt about the same. Weird. But he shrugged it off, who was he to say what was weird and not weird about a biju's stomach.

Then he heard the breathing. _'Wait, breathing?'_ Naruto thought. "Hello?" He called out a little nervously. All of a sudden the area was lit-up, making it look much like the area he had been in before he was eaten.

He gave a quick look around before he gasped. He wasn't in the fox's stomach. He, Naruto guessed, was still in the same pocket of light earlier; the only real difference was the giant orange fox with nine tails that encircled the area of light. Naruto gave a sigh of relief at not being eaten before he realized that the fox was right in front of and could very well eat him at any time.

Before he could find a way out of the situation however, the fox spoke. "So," the Kyuubi said, it's voice booming out in a show of power, "My warden visits me. I must say I'm surprised. I didn't expect you to come back here. Unless, have you come here to take more of my power? To, as you said, take what is rightfully yours?"

Naruto shivered at the look the Kyuubi sent him after the last thing was pointed out.

"Look, I didn't -"

Naruto was interrupted by the fox standing up and slamming a paw down onto the ground, causing a small earthquake to rock the area.

"Quiet human!" The Kyuubi shouted. "I don't care what you have come here for, how you have come here, or about you in general. But now, you have wandered into my cage and as such are now subject to my power."

Naruto blanched as he heard those words and tried to stabilize himself from the last of the shock waves from the Biju's stomp. "B-but wait. I-I didn't mean to come here!" He started to shout desperately to try and reason with the beast.

"And why should I be concerned with that?"

"W-well," he started nervously, desperately searching for an answer, "b-because why not?" He tried.

The fox looked at him for a minute before it huffed and started to walk away. Naruto didn't know what was happening as he watched the fox leave the area, but he wasn't so stupid as to look a gift horse in the mouth and as such started to make his way toward the other direction of the fox.

Without warning the demon stopped. "I don't have time for you to be running around my cage, so follow me. Or," it said turning around with an expression of utmost seriousness on its face, "or I could kill you right now and be done with it."

Naruto shivered at the fox's expression. Well, that and the crushing feeling of the Biju's presence. That didn't stop him from thinking of a way to get out of his position. _'Should I keep going and risk the Kyuubi's wrath, or should I follow him?'_ He started to debate with himself. _'Should I go with him? He says he will kill me if I don't, but he didn't say what would happen if I followed him. What if he still ends up killing me? Is it really worth losing my one opportunity to escape just because the Kyuubi _might _not kill me? And all that begs the question is this truly my only escape route?'_

He sighed and gave up on reasoning to instead just follow the Kyuubi. I mean, it can't be all the bad, right?

_**Present time Naruto **__(from beginning of last chapter)_

He woke up with a start. He had heard something. _'An ANBU patrol?'_ He thought. _'No. They would've spread out from here when searching for me. At least, I hope they would.'_ He looked around trying to find the source of the noise before he gave up with a groan. _'Probably just an animal.' _He reasoned. _'Stupid fucking forest and it's stupid fucking animals.'_

He groaned again as he realized he had to get up. That would not feel good, a tree after all does not act well as a bed. When he finally managed to get up, he realized it was still night. _'Or,' _he thought, _'is it the next day?'_ Shrugging because he didn't care all that much, he left his hiding spot and started running again.

Where was he running? Simple. Anywhere but Konoha. Not after what they had done to him. Oh no, they didn't want or deserve him. They didn't truly care what happened to him. That hurt him a little, but he quickly got over once he remembered that they don't mean anything to him either.

Naruto sighed, what right did they have to decide that he would be lied to like that? That he didn't deserve to know the truth? And then, they go and completely disregard him for his sacrifice! What a bunch of fucking assholes!

As he was thinking along those lines, he started to emit higher and higher levels of chakra through his feet. This not only made him go faster, but also made him easier to detect. Which is exactly what happened a minute later when two ninjas all of a sudden appeared in front of him. Because of that he was quickly brought out of his thoughts, but not his anger.

"Get out of my way!" He yelled as he ran at them, ready to bunch the one on the right with a wild hook, "I'm not going back and you can't make me!"

"Naruto," the stranger on the right said in a stoic voice, "why are you leaving?"

That stopped Naruto in his tracks and lower his fist. "I gave my goodbyes. You two don't need to be here."

"Gave your goodbyes? Please, all you did was leave a note for Itachi to find that said you were leaving the village and not to worry. That's not saying your goodbyes!" Akira, the figure on the left, yelled.

Naruto cringed as she yelled. "Shhh." He said as he looked around hastily. "I don't need the ANBU to find me."

"Who is to say we won't take you back?" Itachi asked calmly.

"Because you guys actually care about me. And because of that you guys will let me do what I need to do."

"And what could you possibly need to do that involves leaving Konoha, your home?" Akira asked, not yelling this time.

"I need to find myself. Who am I, what am I, and why am I? I need to answer those questions." Was his simple response.

"Naruto, that doesn't explain why you need to leave." Itachi pointed out because it seemed like it was his turn to respond.

"Well that's because I can't tell you why I'm leaving. I won't put you two into that position."

"What position? Did you do something that is getting you kicked out?" Akira gasped, "A-are you a spy?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's nothing I did."

"Then who did it? You can't get blamed for something you didn't do." She asked, starting to get annoyed by his evasive answering.

"The Hokage's, but look. I don't have time for this, I'm going." He said as he turned and jumped away.

"Wait, Naruto!" She yelled after him. "Damn it, come on Itachi. We gotta go find him again."

"No." He said.

"Yeah, I knew you'd a- wait what? Don't you care about Naruto? We can't just let him go!"

"This isn't about whether I care about Naruto, it's about if I trust him. And I do. So I believe he will do what is right." He stated calmly, seemingly not fazed by the anger Akira had been outputting a minute ago.

"Well screw you! I'm going after our friend!" She shouted at him. Itachi just closed his eyes and nodded.

"Then I wish you the best of luck." He said as he started to walk back toward Konoha. She flipped him off before she hurriedly went the way Naruto had gone.

_'Screw him! I'll get our friend back and nothing will stop me!'_ She thought determinedly.

_**Back in time to Naruto in his mindscape**_

Naruto was getting tired of following the fox. It had to have been hours, and yet it hadn't felt like they had moved at all. The circle of light kept following them too so that added to the illusion they hadn't moved. He wanted to ask the fox how much longer, but didn't think that the hospitality of it extended so far.

He sighed and was just about to test the Kyuubi's willingness to share information when it spoke up.

"We're here." It stated

"Where is here exactly? This looks just like what we've been walking through for the past couple...of...hours...oh." He trailed off as the fox moved out of his line of sight and revealed the bars to the cage. He turned inquisitive quickly though. "But why?" He asked.

"Do not mistake this for kindness boy, I am merely doing what is best given the situation."

Naruto was confused. "The situation? What situation? There is no situation."

The fox harrumphed. "If that is what you believe warden then so be it."

Naruto just nodded as he walked forward to the bars before he was stopped just in front of them.

"Boy," the Kyuubi called as it began to move away from Naruto and the bars, "it would be in our best interests for you to leave Konoha and become strong soon."

Naruto just watched the fox move away before he huffed and walked through the cage with only one thing on his mind.

_'Crazy fucking fox.'_


	6. You can learn somethings here

**A/N: So really short chapter here today. Probably couldve put this last chapter, but I didn't. Meh, whatever. Anyway, two things. 1) go read Reaching for a dream by Noodlehammer and 2) I lied about summer being able to make me write faster. school is a way easier time to write. But on with the story!**

**Hope you like what I have happen to Naruto and please review...I'm lonely.**

Naruto sighed as he thought back to his meeting with the fox. Now was not the time to distract himself with what the fox wanted. He had a plan and he was sticking to it. He would retrieve the scroll and documents for Mizuki and show Akira and Itachi he was still important in their friendship.

His plan to take everything was quite simple: sneak in without being caught, leave without getting caught, and get the scroll to Mizuki.

It wasn't the most complicated of ideas, but it'd get the job done.

He breathed in deeply as he watched one of the Uchiha patrols pass by the area. _'Now's my chance,' _he thought, _'before they come back.'_

He smiled one last time on thinking about how everything would turn out before he set off.

_**Akira chasing Naruto**_

"Naruto!" Akira yelled, "Naruto wait!"

Naruto ignored her as he kept running through the forest even though he knew it was a wasted effort. Akira has always been faster then him. Was there anything he could truly do he wondered to himself.

Before he could really ponder that thought though, Akira tackled him in-between jumps which ended with them sprawled out on the ground.

"Now listen here you," she started as she sat on top of him, "you can't just run away from the village like you are. You can't run away from me and Itachi!"

Naruto groaned from her landing and then proceeding to sit on him. "Says who?! You? Itachi? The Hokage? What does that matter?! It doesn't! So let me go!" Naruto yelled as he tried to shake her of of him.

"No!" She shouted back as she bashed his head against the ground in an attempt to stop his squirming.

Sadly it didn't work and he was able to wiggle his way out from under her.

"Just leave me alone, Akira." Naruto said while breathing heavily from their scuffle. "It's better I go. I can't trust myself here."

Akira was confused. "What do you mean you can't trust yourself?"

He turned away. "I just can't."

"That's not an answer!" She yelled back at him as she stood up herself.

"My god why can't you just leave me be?!" Naruto snapped, "you wanna fucking know why I have to leave?! Why I can't trust myself?! Because I've been lied to my whole life. I'm not Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, I'm just Naruto Uzumaki because I'm..."

_**Earlier where Mizuki was meeting Naruto**_

"...not Minato's and Kushina's child?" Naruto questioned. "I don't believe you."

Mizuki just laughed. "You can believe whatever you want, but you're not their's. Their child, Menma, was killed by the masked man on the night of his birth." He explained.

"No, I refuse to believe you!" Naruto argued.

Mizuki snorted. "Look, I'm trying to do you a favor brat, but I've gotten get going. So I'll leave these papers for you and be on my way."

And true to his word he left the pages and jumped away. "W-wait!" Naruto shouted after him, but didn't actually follow him. He looked at the documents that Mizuki left and felt himself torn by indecision and doubt.

_'C-could Mizuki have been telling the truth?'_ He thought to himself. "No." He argued aloud. "There is no way he is telling the truth." He told himself resolutely.

"But then again," he started doubting what he knew again, "it would explain a lot."

He looked between the documents and Mizuki before he made his choice. The documents are what required his attention.

What he saw when he read them was shocking.

Mizuki had been right.

Naruto wasn't their child, the one they actually had, Menma, had been killed by the masked man who came and released the Kyuubi.

It was all right there in Minato's handwriting.

It was weird when he read the papers. The first thing he felt wasn't anger, shock, or even betrayal. No, what he first felt was relief. Relief that he wasn't one of them.

Then he thought of what this meant and he did feel anger. Pure unadulterated rage at what they kept from him, at what they lied to him about. That anger rapidly dissipated however and just left him tired.

He started laughing at it all though. A maniacal laugh. "You know what world!?" He shouted once he gained control of himself. "Fuck you and the little game you're trying to play with my life! Couldn't just leave me alone and have one thing could you? You make a mockery of me and everything I do. Why can't you just leave me out of this?!" He shouted.

"Why?!" He shouted again. "Why? Why? Why?" His shouts becoming quieter and quieter until they were a whisper.

Naruto began to sob. "No," he told himself as he tried to stem his crying, "This isn't the time for this. I can't cry. I have to get out of here."

He told himself that but he didn't move from his spot. _'Can I actually leave? Is it worth it?' _

He thought on the question for a minute before the answer became clear for him. _'Yes I can, and nothing can stop me.'_

At that he took off into the night going in a different direction then Mizuki.

_**Akira confronting Naruto**_

"So?" Akira asked. "Why does that matter?"

"_Why does it matter? _She asks," Naruto mocked before he answered her question. "Because it changes everything! Not just about my thoughts on this place and it's people, but on myself. I don't know who I am anymore Akira."

"You're Naruto, that hasn't changed." She argued. "You're still the same you."

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean my sense of identity. It's been shattered into a million pieces like broken glass. I can't fix it, I have to find a new one." He countered.

"Then find it here. In Konoha, your home." She said, almost pleading. "Why can't you do that? There isn't anything outside of here that you can't get in Konoha."

"Because I just need to get away from it all."

"No you don't! You need friends and companionship!" She protested.

"Look, Akira, nothing you say will change my mind. So just stop and let me go." Naruto said.

"Why should I? You're my friend and I have to be there for you."

"Because you don't have much of a choice." Naruto all of a sudden said from behind her back. "I wish you and Itachi's relationship the best of luck though."

"Wha-" was all she could get out about what was happening before Naruto knocked her unconscious with a swift jab at the neck.

He sent her up comfortably at the base of the tree where she would be found soon if she didn't wake up first before he headed out. He only said one thing before he left; "I'm sorry."


End file.
